


Back Up!

by CuriousThimble



Series: Fictober 2020 [28]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Grey Warden - Freeform, Griffin - Freeform, grey warden griffin, non canon grey warden
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:22:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27289348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuriousThimble/pseuds/CuriousThimble
Summary: One of Hera's griffins is restless.
Series: Fictober 2020 [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948270
Kudos: 1





	Back Up!

**Author's Note:**

> Day 28! We're almost there!

Cassiel shrieks and rears on his hind legs, swiping at anything that moved. “Cassiel, calm down!” Hera orders, digging her heels into his sides. “Cassiel!”

“Majesty!” Stablemaster Craven shouts, running over. “Jump off!”

Enraged, Cassiel spins around, jumping and shrieking again. “I can’t!” she cries and pulls hard on Cassiel’s reins. “Back up!” she shouts to Stablemaster Craven. “I can’t hold him much longer!”

_ This was a mistake. _

Hera never trained the griffins at night— she was usually too busy— and spent most of her time in the stables around dawn. But tonight she’d cleared specifically to spend with them, and Cassiel seems to be opposed to the change of routine. His temper had been prickly while she’d combed and saddled him, and she’d thought he’d enjoy a ride around the palace to settle him down. He liked to run, folding his wings back and racing across the open fields. It had not helped, however.

Cassiel craved the air.

Now, back at the stables, he pitches and jumps, trying to dislodge Hera from the saddle as she tries desperately to get him under control. “ _ Back up, Craven _ !”

Craven stumbles back, narrowly avoiding being swept aside by a sharp claw. The griffin gives two powerful pumps of his silver wings and lifts himself and his rider off the ground. Hera’s heart drops into her stomach as they take flight, the air rushing past them in a roar as Cassiel climbs. Clinging to her saddle and glad of the belt holding her in, she watches Ravenloft’s dark, mist-shrouded landscape blur beneath her.

_Amazing,_ she thinks, anxiety replaced by joy. _We’re flying._ _Actually flying!_

“Cassiel!” she shouts over the wind, leaning forward. “We’re flying!”

He lets out a hawkish shriek in answer, working his wings harder so they soar over the mist, giving them a clear view of the stars. Laughter bubbles out of Hera and she lifts her arms, spreading them wide. None of the griffins had been ready to fly with a passenger yet— it certainly hadn’t been her intention when she’d saddled Cassiel at sunset. This moment felt like a gift, lifting Hera out of the night-to-night problems of ruling a kingdom and the constant heartache she tried to ignore.

“Thank you,” she whispered as Cassiel adjusted his wings to glide over the forest. Moonlight flashed on his silver wings, and she leaned forward to wrap her arms around his neck. “Thank you.”


End file.
